Needle bar assembly for knitting machines and process of knitting thereon



July 19, 1938. K. HOWIE 2,124,067

NEEDLE BAR ASSEMBLY FOR KNITTING MACHINES AND PROCESS OF- KNITTING THEREON Original Filed Dec. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 jufiy 1 9, 193. K. HOWIE 2,124,957 NEEDLE BAR ASSEMBLY FOR KNITTING MACHINES AND PROCESS OF KNITTING THEREON Original Filed Dec. 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jfennei'h Jigugz'e,

Patented July 19, 1938 NEEDLE BAR ASSEMBLY FOR- KNITTING MACHINES AND PROCESS OF KNITTING THEREON Kenneth Howie, Norristown, Pa., assignor to Wildman Mfg. (30., Norristown, Pa., 2. corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 14, 1935, Serial No. 54,470 Renewed January 5, 1938 9 Claims. (on. 66-82) The invention relates to full fashioned knitting machines of the Cotton type.

The invention includes a needle bar madeof sections i. e. a middle section and a section at each end of the middle section, said end sections being adjustable endwise away from the middle.

section to leave enlarged spaces in the needle row between the adjacent ends of the sections so that a wale of enlarged sinker loops will be knit in each heel tab substantially at or adjacent the inner selvage thereof.

In transferring the leg blank to a machine for knitting the foot portion onto the leg portion, the wale of open stitches can be used for impaling the heel tabs onto the transfer bar, and thence to the needles of the footer machine. Or the fabric, having the wale of enlarged loops, can-be impaled on the needles of the same machine on which they were formed, for continuing the knitting to form the foot, or the tabs with the wales of enlarged loops can be used in a process involving the attachment of .said tabs to the foot portion of the stocking by a looping action performed by the operator.

The invention also includes besides the apparatus, the process of knitting, and the fabric.

In the accompanying drawings I Fig. l is a front view of the needle bar adjusted to its closed position, and showing part of the means for operating the ban.

Figs. 1a and lb are details.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the needle bar adjusted to its open position.

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of parts of adjacent sections of the needle bar and part of the means for adjusting the sections of the bar to open or closed position. This view shows the sections in their separated relation, the bar therefor being referred to as in its open condition.

Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of the sectional clamping member of the needle bar.

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the main part of the sectional needle bar.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the supporting rail of the sectional needle bar.

Fig. 6a is an end view of Fig. 6.

Fig. 6b is a view of an end plate for the rail of Fig. 6.

Fig. 7 and Fig. 7a are end views of the main part, and the clamping part, respectively, of the needle bar.

Figs. 8 and 9 are views of a bar forming part of the means for adjusting the sections of the needle bar.

Figs. 10 and 11 are views of an eccentric forming another part of the means for adjusting the needle bar sections.

Fig. 12 is a diagram of the fabric produced with the aid of the sectional needle bar.

The sectional needle bar can be used in an ordinary Cotton frame for making full fashioned hosiery, or in the machine shown in the United States patent of Howie and Krieble, December 4, 1934, No. 1,982,991.

The needle bar of the present invention i which the row of spring beard needles d are mounted is shown generally at i, la, carried by brackets 2, mounted on bearings 4 and operated by mechanism substantially as in ordinary practice, upwardly and downwardly and also forwardly and backwardly in performing the knitting operations.

This needle bar according to the present improvement is formed in sections, i. e., a middle section I and end sections Ia, for a purpose hereinafter described.

The sections of the bar are each provided with a dovetail base kc corresponding to the recess in the carrier rail. At the ends of the carrier rail II are cross plates 1 lb secured by screws I2. The center section of the-needle bar is fixed to'the carrier rail by screws 13. The end sections are adapted to have movement lengthwise along the carrier rail to and from the center section, the outward movement being limited by the adjustable stop screws llc. The needles are clamped between the main sections of the needle bar and the complementary clamping sections lc which are secured to the main section by the bolts Id.

Each main section of the needle bar mayhave one of the clamping members associated therewith, so that each end section with its clamp can be manipulated independently.

The movable end sections la of the needle bar are pressed normally endwise against the ends of the fixed middle section I of the bar by springs 14 which are seated in sockets 14a of the cross plates Nb and sockets in the end sections.

The closed position of the needle bar, i. e.- with the end sections against the middle, is shown in I Fig. 1, so that the needles adjacent the joint between the sections are spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing of the needles throughout the sections. This condition is for knitting courses with the spacing of stitches uniform throughout, as for instance, in the welt, leg and foot portions of the stocking.

For separating the end sections from the ends of the fixed middle section, as shown in Fig. 2, 55

' the screw studs 19. a lock nut being provided at 84.

ing through elongated openings 80 in the rod into the end sections of the needle bar. An adjustment for this connection consists of a screw 82 passing through the lug 83 and bearing on one of The eccentric may be variously operated automatically or manually. As an example, a man- .uaily operated means has been chosen for this particular disclosure of the invention consisting of a handle 8| attached to the eccentric. By turning this handle from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2, the rod 18 is pushed by the eccentric leftward, and this move ment is communicated to the lefthand section of theneedle bar., The right hand section la of the needle bar is also free to move and because the eccentric is mounted directly thereon the result will be that both end sections aremoved endwise from the middle section until stopped by the screws lie. The needles will 'now be related as shown in Fig. 2 with the needles atthe adjacent ends of the sections of the bar spaced apart as shown at y a distance greater than the ordinary spaces between the needles.

With the needle bar sections adjusted as just described, a line of sinker wale stitches will be formed longer atithe gaps, or wider spaces 11 between the sections ofthe needle row, so that the heel tabs will have 'a line of enlarged spaces, or openings, in those wales of the heel tabs which are ator adjacent the inner selvage edges of said tabs, as shown at y Fig. 12, which selvage edges are knit on, say, the end pairs of needles of the middle section of the needle bar, one pair at each end of saidmiddle section.

The clamping screws Id forthe center section of the needle bar, aswell as the clamping screwfor the right hand section, which screws draw the clamping plate Ic into place to clamp the needles.

to the bar, have their heads exposed through openings 18a in the rod l8,which openings are larger in diameter than the bolt heads, so that the rod is free to be adjusted despite that the said heads lie in part in said openings.

With the invention applied to astocking knit- The sectional needle bar above described may be used in carrying out various processes of knitting. For instance, when it is desired to provide in the knitting operation a wale of open work in each tab to facilitate impaling the leg blank onto a transfer bar for. transferring to a machine for interknitting the foot portion of the stocking with the leg portion, the knitting of the leg would be carried on with the needle bar in closed condition to provide a row of needles equally spaced throughout. This knitting would be continued to a point where the knitting of the heel tabs is about to begin, whereupon the needle bar is adjusted to its open position of Fig. 2 presenting the extra wide spaces at 1/ between certain of the needles which are to form the heel tabs. The knitting iscontinued. during which the instep fabric is cast off after the required ravel courses are knit thereon, and finally the heel tabs with their ravel courses are cast ofi and the fabric is then ready to be placed on the points of a transfer bar and thereafter upon the needles of the footer machine by the use of said transfer bar.

Other processes can be carried out involving the use of what, conveniently, may be termed an instep transfer bar,.by which the instep loops are taken oif from the instep needles, and held while the heel tabs are completed and thereafter, by means of said instep transfer bar, replaced upon said instep needles for knitting the foot portion of the fabric on the same machine, only the one machine being-necessary to do the whole work.

This instep transfer bar forms part of the subject matter of another application for patent filed of even date herewith, as does also its combination with this needle bar.

In one process, involving the use of said instep I ing taken place before the knitting of the foot has been started.

It will be noted that the row of needles for forming the instep fabric extends from and in- "cluding the needle dl to and including the needle d2, on the middle section of the needle bar. At the ends of this row of instep needles there are other needles on'the middle section, and'two of these are shown as an example at each end of the middle section. These needles, while mounted on the middle section, belong to those needles which knit the heel tabs. By this relation of the needles the sectional b'ar enables the extra wide spaces 1,! to be provided in the heel tab fabric at or adjacent the inner selvage edges thereof.

The full complement of needles is always maintained in alignment with the needle row, the extra wide spaces between certain of the needles being obtainedby a relative adjustment endwise between the sections. Because none. of the needles are moved to a position out of alignment with the other needles of the row, the use of operating connections individual to certain of the needles is avoided, which operating connections would have to be multiplied according to the number of needles which are to be operated to and from a position of alignment with the other needles of the row. The sectional bar may be used in carrying out other processes of knitting a single unit full fashioned stocking on one machine, and therefore it will be understood that the invention involving the'sectional needle bar is not limited to any one use thereof.

By this invention the needles are maintained in their aligned condition irrespective of whether or not the extra wide spacing at 1'] exists in the needle row. v

No individual needle is dropped out nor deflected from its prescribed position. No special means are provided for holding the needles in alignment with each other. All sections being mounted in the rail having the dovetail channel will be maintained in accurate alignment under all circumstances. The dovetail channel in the supporting rail may be lined with any suitable wear piece.

It will be seen that the rail H which serves as carrier for the sections I, la holding the needles is integral from end to end. Its middle portion i. e. that portion which corresponds in length to the middle section' l of the needle bed has said middle section rigidly attached thereto against any relative movement between said middle section and the rail. The portions of the rail lying at either end of the rail may be termed the end portions of said rail. They form integral extensions of the rails middle portion and they serve asguides as well as supports for the end sections Ia of the needle bed.

I claim:

1. A needle bar for full fashioned knitting machines comprising a carrier rail made up of a middle portion and end portions integrally connected with the middle portion and in lengthwise alignment therewith, a section rigidly secured to the rails middle portion against movement relative thereto, a section mounted on each of the integrally connected end portions of the rail and slidably only endwise for adjustment to and from the middle section while in constant alignment therewith, needles carried by the sections and means for operating the end sections for adjusting them.

2. A needle bar according to claim 1 in which the operating means for the end sections comprises a bar and an initial operating element for said bar mounted on one of the sections, and a connection operated by said element, which by one action moves both of the end sections away from the middle section.

3. A needle bar according to claim 1 in which spring means holds the needle bar sections closed against each other, and initial operating means mounted on one of the sections, with a connection operated thereby for separating the sections against the pressure of the spring means.

4. A needle bar for flat full fashioned knitting machines having a middle section and a section at each end of the middle section movable to and from the middle section, each section having its complement of needles to make up the needle row, and means for moving the end sections endwise relative to the middle section, said means comprising an initial operating element for manual manipulation mounted on one of the end sections, a connection from said element to the other end section, and stops for limiting the outward movement of the end sections, substantially as described.

5. A needle bar according to claim 4 in which the operating means consists of an eccentric mounted on one end section, and a connection operated by and extending from the eccentric to the other section, substantially as described.

6. The hereindescribed process of knitting with a sectional needle bar consisting in knitting the leg portion of the stocking with the sections closed, that is, with the end sections closed against the middle section to provide equal spacing between the needles throughout the needle row, then separating the sections so that the spaces between the needles at the adjacent ends of the sections will be enlarged for making a Wale of enlarged sinker loops adjacent the inner selvage edges of the heel 'tabs, substantially as described.

'7. A process according to claim 6 in which the inner selvage portions of the heel tabs are formed by needles at the ends of the middle section of the needle bar.

8. The hereindescribed process of knitting with a sectional needle bar, consisting in knitting a portion of the fabric with the sections closed, to provide equal spacing between the needles throughout the needle row, then separating the sections so that the spaces between the needles at the adjacent ends of the sections will be enlarged, and then knitting to thereby make wales of enlarged sinker loops, substantially as described.

9. A method according to claim 8 in which all sections of the needle bar are held in lengthwise alignment under all conditions, substantially as described.

KENNETH HOWIE. 

